Design and fabrication of fuel-self-propelled reaction device for passive micro direct methanol fuel cell anodes

In this paper, we successfully developed a fuel-self-propelled reaction device without consuming any external source of energy for passive micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) anodes by using the physical phenomenon of surface tension through three-type micro fluidic structures. Firstly, to prevent the backflow of fuel from the reaction zone due to generated gas pressure, highly dense micro-channels were arranged for fuel self-feeding. Interlaced V-shaped micro ribs were then arranged across the reaction zone to rapidly and uniformly distribute fuel into the reaction chambers. Lastly, in the reaction chambers, we combined micro and nano structures as platinum (Pt) catalyst support both to increase the reaction surface area and to remove the gas exhaust [1] for the performance enhancement of micro DMFCs.